The Einstein Pursuit

20

Payne hadn’t realized that his father had traveled overseas to recruit scientists to work at Payne Industries. The mere thought of it was intriguing — and confusing.

Sahlberg continued. ‘He came to me upon my graduation and invited me to dinner. He said he only wanted an hour of my time, and if I wasn’t convinced by then, he would never bother me again. Though I couldn’t see any connection between the steel industry and my work, I was young and poor, and the offer of a free meal was enough to bring me to the table.’

‘What was your field of expertise?’ Payne wondered.

‘Molecular biology. Particularly with regard to cellular manipulation.’

‘You were a geneticist?’ Jones asked.

‘Not until much later,’ Sahlberg replied. ‘At the time, my studies were primarily based on notions of cellular immunity. For instance, is there a way to kill the agents that cause cells to become cancerous without killing the entire cancerous cell? And if so, is it possible to condition cells so that they are able to detect such agents and destroy them before they have caused the cells to become cancerous? A sort of cellular self-defense, if you will.’

‘What did that have to do with the steel industry?’ Payne wondered.

‘Absolutely nothing,’ Sahlberg said with a smile. ‘Absolutely nothing at all. It seems your father simply saw the writing on the wall. He knew the demand for steel could not possibly keep to the levels it was reaching, and he wanted to make sure that Payne Industries remained solvent — even prosperous — long after the demand had dried up. To that end, he began to diversify the company’s interests. And rather than switch the focus to established fields, he was looking toward emerging technologies.’

Jones laughed at the statement. ‘That’s kind of confusing.’

‘What is?’ Payne demanded.

‘We’re talking about emerging technologies in the past tense, which means we’re actually discussing things that have already been invented. I’m tempted to smoke a joint just so I can follow the conversation.’

Payne rolled his eyes. ‘Obviously he’s kidding about the drugs, and yet he brings up an interesting point. What was considered cutting-edge tech in that era?’

‘Let’s see …’ Sahlberg rubbed his chin. ‘Fiber optics came along in the mid 1950s, and shortly after that the microchip and the computer modem were introduced. Techniques for data storage, such as audio and video cassettes, were still being tested. And the first video game — a game called Spacewar — was invented by a computer programmer at MIT.’

Sahlberg took a sip of water before he continued. ‘From a medical perspective, you had studies concerning the hepatitis B vaccine, rudimentary versions of artificial skin and advancements in grafting techniques, and of course, the release of oral contraception.’

Jones grinned and stuck up his hand for the doctor to slap. ‘High five for that!’

Sahlberg laughed and willingly gave him a high five. ‘Yes, I have to admit, that’s a personal favorite of mine, too.’

Jones pointed at him. ‘Hell, yeah. The doc’s a playa!’

Payne ignored the comment — for now — and got Sahlberg back on track. ‘Which field interested my father?’

‘All of them,’ Sahlberg replied. ‘Your father was a visionary. No one knew which of these would bear the most fruit, so he explored them all. By keeping his options open, he ensured that Payne Industries would survive the eventual decline of the steel boom, that it would even survive its total collapse. And he succeeded. Just look at this place! Every advancement this company has made — every technology it has studied, improved and perfected — is a direct result of your father’s foresight. From the moment we met, I was certain about one thing: your father was a man ahead of his time.’

Sahlberg turned his head and stared out the window at the glistening lights of the city. He wanted to say more — something that conveyed how much he’d respected Payne’s father and how truly sorry he was that he hadn’t come forward years ago to share these memories — but he didn’t know how to put it into words.

‘Thank you for that,’ Payne said.

Sahlberg looked at him and smiled, grateful that Payne understood his sentiment.

Payne nodded once, then grabbed his water bottle from the table and took several large gulps as he reviewed the details in his mind. Something about it didn’t make sense.

The only Payne Industries research and development facility in the Pittsburgh area was located in the nearby city of Ambridge. It was a sprawling billion-dollar complex that housed countless scientists, engineers and computer wunderkinds, all of whom were working on top-secret projects in a variety of fields. It was exactly the kind of place that his father would have used to entice Sahlberg, if it had actually existed back then.

However, the Ambridge facility was brand new.

Before the new building opened its doors, the R&D division was run out of an industrial complex in nearby Sewickley. The location was built into a grassy hillside, and many of the offices were completely underground. For that reason alone, the facility was affectionately known as ‘the Mine’.

‘Were you one of the mole men?’ Payne asked. It was the preferred nickname of the scientists who worked inside the Mine.

‘No, I never worked in Sewickley, nor in Ambridge for that matter. In fact, my retirement coincided with the opening of the new facility.’

‘Then where did you work?’

‘I ran my own facility on the University of Pittsburgh campus.’

‘At Pitt? I didn’t know you had a facility there,’ Jones said.

‘Neither did I,’ Payne admitted.

‘Good!’ Sahlberg said, laughing. ‘Then my colleagues kept things quiet like they were supposed to.’

Jones smiled. ‘Why there?’

‘Fifty years ago, the University of Pittsburgh was the center of the scientific universe, so your father felt it was the perfect place for me.’

‘Any idea why?’ Payne asked.

‘Your grandfather kept him on a very short financial leash. He was happy to invest in technologies applicable to the steel industry, but he wasn’t about to waste his fortune on flights of fancy. Our research was significant, but it had no relevance to the company as your grandfather envisioned it. As such, there was no room for us at the Mine.’

‘Given that it didn’t have my grandfather’s support, how many years did your laboratory last?’

‘More than fifty,’ Sahlberg said proudly.

‘How is that possible?’ Jones asked.

‘Jonathon’s father established means for my work to be funded in perpetuity. I don’t exactly know how he did it — I never asked, and he never mentioned it — but I’ve had access to the same credit line for half a century.’

Payne’s curiosity was piqued. He leaned forward, bringing himself closer to Sahlberg. Though they were in the privacy of his penthouse, he actually felt the need to lower his voice to a whisper. ‘Doctor, what exactly is your area of expertise?’

Sahlberg grabbed his glass and gulped his wine.

He had been dreading this moment for many years.